FAU Announces Five Finalists in Business Plan Competition

Florida Atlantic University has announced the five finalists for this year’s FAU Business Plan Competition, hosted by FAU’s Adams Center for Entrepreneurship and the College of Business on Monday, April 11.

The five finalists were selected from a pool of 10 semi-finalists by a panel of judges who reviewed the contestants’ business plans and listened to their pitch presentations. Roland Kidwell, Ph.D., director of the Adams Center for Entrepreneurship, said the judges indicated they were impressed by the level of creativity and innovation displayed by the entries.

By james hellegaard | 4/6/2016

Florida Atlantic University has announced the five finalists for this year’s FAU Business Plan Competition, hosted by FAU’s Adams Center for Entrepreneurship and the College of Business on Monday, April 11 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the FAU College of Business Atrium and BU 120 classroom, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus.

The five finalists are:

FacePlay, a new and authentic communication tool using picture/video technology that is intuitive and personal between users. Their goal is to make everyone you are communicating with feel as if they are right next to you at all times, enjoying and sharing all the moments and experiences.

Jinglz, a social entertainment app where advertisers and consumers are connected through relevant video advertising, calls to action and rewards for loyalty. Jinglz uses a proprietary facial scanning technology to guarantee the advertiser will only pay if the viewer watches 100 percent of their video ad.

Design IQ, a newly founded company set to conquer the $7.6 trillion growing tourism industry by offering the world’s greatest architectural tours. Design IQ is uniquely different from its competitors utilizing local architectural students, professors and practicing professionals as tour guides.

Aquarum, the exclusive producer of Gold Water™, simple, pure, naturally alkaline, filtered spring water with a naturally high pH of between 7.8 and 8.0, combined with 1mg of 23 karat gold flakes per half liter bottle. The result is unlike anything that has been seen before in the bottled water industry.

TUCEG Panels, a system that replaces conventional block-and-mortar construction techniques while reducing construction costs by up to 40 percent and construction time by up to 50 percent. TUCEG Panels installs, manages and operates innovative, environmentally green Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) panel manufacturing facilities in developing countries.

The five finalists were selected from a pool of 10 semi-finalists by a panel of judges who reviewed the contestants’ business plans and listened to their pitch presentations. Roland Kidwell, Ph.D., director of the Adams Center for Entrepreneurship, said the judges indicated they were impressed by the level of creativity and innovation displayed by the entries.

“We are looking forward to an exciting round of presentations next week as the five remaining contestants refine their plans and present them to the finalist judges,” said Kidwell, who also serves as professor and chair of the Department of Management Programs within FAU’s College of Business. “We are very pleased with how the student-focused competition is turning out this year and thank the contestants and the judges as well as the mentors who work individually with them in reviewing their business plans.”

Florida Atlantic University embodies a culture of strategic and collaborative community engagement that results in mutual benefit to the institution and the diverse internal and external communities that it serves.